Robert L. Townsend was born in June of 1919 in the small town of Hammondsport, which is on the shore of Lake Keuka, in north central New York State; which is in the north eastern part of the United States of America. His father was a minister and ran a small hardware store, his mother a minister’s wife and homemaker. Robert loved to speed skate on the ice that formed on Lake Keuka. His mother passed away when he was a child and his father passed away when he was a teenager, his older brother “Cy” looked after him until he was an adult. Robert Townsend supported himself during these years working in the Taylor Winery, and at the local garage as well as other jobs.

     In 1939 he met the love of his life, Amelia Renta, known as Jean. She was the younger sister of his brother Cy’s wife. Robert Townsend joined the United States Army before the war started and was a heavy duty automotive mechanic due to his prior experience at the local garage. He was assigned to the 880^th Ordinance HAM (Heavy Automotive Maintenance) Company, which maintained large vehicles and tanks. He was at a base in Texas when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entered the war.

    A few days later Jean Renta arrived at the base, because they wanted to marry before Robert was sent off to war.   In October 1942 Robert’s unit shipped out to England on the Queen Mary out of New York Harbor. The unit moved around England and was camped in Ashchurch until they shipped out to Normandy on D-Day. He loved the English countryside; he said it was peaceful.

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